Hong Kong's leading jockey Zac Purton, Lyle Hewitson and visiting Japanese jockey Yuichi Fukunaga were taken to nearby Prince of Wales Hospital after the fall in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday.
It was reported that all three were conscious throughout the incident and on Sunday night were in a stable condition reported scmp.com.
The incident began when Amazing Star came down under 24-year-old Hewitson at the head of the field turning for the home straight. Runners following Amazing Star were unable to avoid the fallen runner with Purton, 38, on favourite Lucky Patch, Karis Teetan, 31, on Naboo Attack and 45-year-old Fukunaga on Pixie Knight falling to the turf.
Teetan walked away from the fall and was able to continue riding, while Amazing Star and Naboo Attack were humanely euthanised as a result of the injuries they suffered.
“The three jockeys are all in a stable condition and they were conscious when they were transported to hospital. Zac and Lyle are in ICU, they’re conscious and their vitals are all stable,” Jockey Club executive director of racing Andrew Harding said.
“Zac has some upper-body injuries, but the extent of those does not seem to be extreme. Lyle potentially has a fracture of his hip and they’re monitoring him to see whether there are any other injuries that he has sustained.
“As far as Fukunaga is concerned, he continues to be monitored for a potential fracture [of the clavicle], and that also has to be managed very carefully in the context of the racing bubble.
“We’re very sad about the loss of the two horses, and we will be investigating if there is anything that can be learned - we do that always.”
The Hong Kong Jockey Club stewards' reported described the incident:
"Near the 550 Metres, AMAZING STAR went amiss and fell, resulting in L Hewitson being dislodged. LUCKY PATCH, which was following, was unable to avoid AMAZING STAR and also fell, resulting in Z Purton being dislodged. NABOO ATTACK was unable to avoid LUCKY PATCH and also fell, causing K Teetan to be dislodged. PIXIE KNIGHT, which was following NABOO ATTACK, was unable to avoid the fallen AMAZING STAR, resulting in Y Fukunaga being dislodged. DANON SMASH was severely checked in this incident and was eased down. STRONGER, which was racing to the inside of LUCKY PATCH. was severely checked. When STRONGER was severely checked, RESISTENCIA was badly hampered, shifted in and inconvenienced SKY FIELD as that horse was shifting to the outside of HOT KING PRAWN. WELLINGTON was also badly hampered in consequence. A veterinary inspection of AMAZING STAR immediately following the race found that horse to have sustained injuries to both front legs. A veterinary inspection of NABOO ATTACK immediately following the race found that horse to have sustained an injury to the right front leg. A veterinary inspection of PIXIE KNIGHT immediately following the race found that horse to be lame in its left front leg and an endoscopic examination also showed a substantial amount of blood in the horse's trachea."
The following winning presentation were scaled back.
“We decided not to play the national anthem afterwards out of respect to the jockeys and respect to the horses,” Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“As wonderful as the racing was today, we also had the unfortunate and tragic circumstances in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, where there was an accident. Our thoughts are with the injured jockeys and we wish Zac Purton, Lyle Hewitson and Yuichi Fukunaga a speedy recovery. Nobody likes to see these accidents and the owners of the horses involved are also in our thoughts.
“If this incident did not happen, it would probably have been one of the greatest achievements of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to pull something like this off. Sometimes you have setbacks and you have to overcome challenges, which we have always proven to do.
“My thanks go to all the trainers and jockeys, especially from overseas, who have gone through tremendous sacrifices. I want to apologise to the owners because when your horses runs you want to see it but they still supported us, which shows that we have that trust. For us it is extremely important that we stage this event because if we had not staged it you lose your spot in the world scene. We are extremely proud that we have achieved this but there is definitely sadness which over-runs everything,” he said.
The Caspar Fownes-trained Sky Field went on to win the HK$22 million Hong Kong Sprint under Blake Shinn.
“I have mixed emotions for winning this race today. Obviously, the first emotion is that my feelings are with the fallen jockeys and horses out there,” Shinn said.
“It’s gut-wrenching for any rider to see a horse go down. It’s a real tragedy what’s happened today, especially on the world stage when everyone is watching. It’s a real bittersweet win, and in a way it’s a hard win to take in the circumstances.”
Earlier updates on the fall in the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday:
It is reported that Zac Purton has suffered three broken ribs and a broken nose after the fall in the Hong Kong Sprint with Lye Hewitson having a fractured hip. Further details will advised as they are advised from authorities.
Earlier reports on Sunday:
A statement from the Hong Kong Jockey Club:
Club statement
The Hong Kong Jockey Club confirms that jockeys Yuichi Fukunaga, Lyle Hewitson and Zac Purton who were dislodged during the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint are conscious and have been sent to hospital for further medical assessment.
Further update will be provided in due course.
